Consortium co-managers HKUST Chair Professor of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management Mitchell Tseng and MIT LeBel Professor of Electrical Engineering Charles G Sodini.

Research and development (R&D) in Hong Kong gained a major new platform in January, with the launch of the HKUST-MIT Research Alliance Consortium.

Attracting multinationals
The academic-industry-government initiative, hosted by HKUST and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is seeking to attract multinational R&D to the city and foster Hong Kong’s role as a hub of science and technology in the Pearl River Delta and beyond.

The Consortium will enable HKUST and sister universities in Hong Kong to work alongside MIT, one of the leading research institutions in the US and renowned for moving research downstream to enhance its economic impact. 

Pre-competitive advanced research
Co-managers are Prof Mitchell Tseng, Chair Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management and Prof Charles G Sodini, LeBel Professor of Electrical Engineering, MIT, while Texas Instruments and Intel Corporation have become founding industrial sponsors.  Support for such pre-competitive advanced research projects will also be sought through the Hong Kong government’s Innovation and Technology Commission and its Innovation and Technology Support Program. 

Focusing on the potential of intelligent living technology at the Consortium’s inauguration at HKUST, Dr Ajith Amerasekera, TI Fellow at Texas Instruments Inc, gave a presentation on “Making Smart Buildings Happen” and Mr Boyd Bangerter, Director of Intel Corporation, spoke on “5G Wireless”. Also attending the event were MIT Provost Martin Schmidt and Mr Johann Wong, Deputy Commissioner for Innovation & Technology at the Innovation and Technology Commission.

HKUST President Tony F Chan said that the collaboration would boost the University’s international research profile and “considerably widen the window of opportunity for transforming research discoveries into technological innovation in Hong Kong, offering a practical way to work toward greater economic diversification and a better quality of life for all”.